Two Supreme Court Rulings to Change our Culture

You may have missed two of the most critical Spureme Court decisions in recent history.  If you did, here they are:

1. Last year, the Supreme Court struck down a challenge by the Christian Legal Society (CLS) to a non-discrimination rule by the Univiersity of California Hastings College of the Law that requires CLS to allow non-Christians into leadership positions in their Society.  This ruling opens the door for public univeristies across the country to force Christian groups on campus to accept non-Christian leadership or else be banned from campus.

2.  This year, the Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal of a decision by the New York City Department of Education to ban churches from renting space in public schools.  This opens the door for other school systems in America to ban churches from renting their facilities, even if their facilities are available for rent by other groups.

On the surface, you may not think of these two rulings as among the most important Supreme Court rulings in recent history, but think again.  Hiding below the surface are two very important realities:

1.  Most children raised in Christian homes walk away from their childhood faith in college.  Many later return; many do not.  Christian ministries on college campuses are a lifeline for those Christians who wish to maintain their Christian faith and identity in the face of the crushing secularism on campus.  Christian ministries provide an opportunity for fellowship, instruction, accountability, comraderie and safety on a college campus that is very hostile to Christians.

2.  In many areas of the country, real estate prices are too high and publicly available rental space so scarce that young churches have no realistic option other than renting gym or cafeterian space in public schools.  Many of these same areas (urban and suburban areas in the Northeast and on the West Coast) would also be most politically likely to ban churches from renting public school space.  These areas of the country, which most need a strong Christian witness, are not equipped with a very effective tool for limiting that witness.

Here are some other facts to consider:

1.  The Christian law students at UC-Hastings are not the only minority that feels the need to band together for fellowship and support.  The college web site lists a large number of student associations, including a Jewsih Law Students Association and ethnically-specific law student associations for Armenians, Blacks, South Asians, Koreans, Middle Easterners, Philippinos, etc.  The college further has issue-advocacy student groups: animal rights, reproductive rights, prisoner outreach, etc.  The list is quite extensive: http://www.uchastings.edu/student-services/student-orgs/index.html  Literally dozens of specialty groups exist on campus to serve every conceivable segment of the student body.  Yet who was taken to court? The Christian group, of course. 

So, here are some questions:

- Could a white supremacist join and lead the Black Law Students Association (BSLA)
- Could a Neo-Nazi join and lead the Jewish Law Students Association (JSLA)?
- Could a pro-life advocate join and lead Law Students for reproductive Justice (a pro-abortion group)?
- Could a right-wing Republican join and lead the Hastings Democrats?
- Could a butcher or beef cattle rancher or red-meat eater join and lead the Hastings Animal Law Society?
- Could an Amish law student join and edit the Hastings Science and Technology Law Journal?

The person who answers "Sure they could!" doesn't care about reality.  I care about reality and so do most Christians.  So, really, why is it that the Christian group was singled out for non-discriminatory discrimination?  Why did the Supreme Court not see right through this ridiculous nonsense and throw the case out, on the grounds of the Constitutional right to free association? 

2.  Other community groups use public school buildings.  In fact, while churches are banned from renting space on Sundays, Muslim students have rooms set aside for prayer during the school day.  Also, schools are constantly fighting budget issues and these churches pay rent to use the building when it would otherwise be empty.

So, we have two Supreme Court decisions that have the potential to exclude Christian ministries from college campuses and from high-density population centers.  Both decisions are inherently and practically disciminatory and both will have a long-term effect on our nation.

          
          

Thoughts on Thoughts About God and the Afterlife

When I lived in Maryland, I listened to Ron Smith from time-to-time.  He was a brilliant conservative radio talk show host, and I did not always agree with him, but I respected his perspective and his commitment to reasonable dialogue and thoughtful analysis of important issues.  He was never a party-line man but was consistent in his conservative-libertarian convictions. 

Now, Ron Smith is dying and is expected to die at any time.  He discovered he has Stage 4 Pancreatic cancer just a few weeks ago and is now succumbing to the aggressive disease.  I have been watching some comments being posted on facebook in honor of Ron and in reflection on his imminent passing from this life and I have been troubled by a trend I have seen.  I am trying to find a polite way to express my perspective on some of these comments without sounding like a jerk at a very difficult time. 

It has always fascinated me that people feel free to invent their own ideas about God, faith, salvation, the afterlife- "To me, God is like . . ." or "Well, I like to think that . . . "  We don't do this in any other area of life and we would not think someone was rational and reasonable who did so in any other area of life.  Do we think that we can shape the most ultimate reality by our own thoughts and simply conform God and eternity and the after-life to our fanciful whims?  Again, I really am not trying to be rude but I am just sincerely asking: If we think that someone's soul will live on in our thoughts and our souls, does that mean that it will happen? 

Consider this: If you ask 10 people, "What happens to the soul when we die?" and they each give you a different answer - we perish, we all live forever in heaven, some people go to heaven and others to hell, our souls return and are reincarnated, our souls live on in the souls of others, etc. - they can't all be right, right? I mean "the voice of reason" would have to say that they can't all be right.  They could all be wrong, but they can't all be right.  Shouldn't we seek to consult an authoritative source and not just make stuff up that makes us feel good?

At this point, the very clear and logical question is often raised, "Well, who's to say?"  I say this question and is clear and logical and I believe it is, in fact, the exact question we need to be asking.  You say X.  I say Y.  Another guy says Z.  But who's to say which answer is right or wrong?  Certainly not me. 

I have no more authority to speak about God and the afterlife than anyone else, regardless of the fact that I am an ordained pastor and thus a "religious professional."  I could very easily make up a wonderful story about the afterlife where everyone gets everything they ever wished for and life is utter, endless bliss.  I can picture it in my mind and even try to convince myself that it might be real.  But, in the end, my fantasies cannot satisfy my soul because they are mere figments of my imagination and death is a cold, hard reality we must all face one day.  They say the only two sure things in life are death and taxes, but the truth is that many people figure out ways to avoid paying taxes.

Who's to say?  Well, God, right?  The problem is that not everyone even believes there is a God and those who do can't seem to agree on what He has said or hasn't said.  But does the mere fact of disagreement utterly paralyze us and mean that we cannot know the truth?  No, of course not! Again, people disagree about all sorts of issues in all areas of life, but that does not stop us from pressing ahead and seeking answers.  If you went to two different doctors who gave you two different diagnoses for your illness, you wouldn't just throw up your hands and say, "Well, I guess I'll never know what's really wrong with me!"  You would press on to find and confirm the truth.

So, let's look at the major religions of the world.  Maybe you think they're all wrong or they're all the same or whatever.  Set that aside.  Look closely.  Of all the major religions in the world, only one was founded by someone who claimed to be God and who claimed to be Himself the only way of salvation.  Interestingly enough, only this one founder was ever seriously reported to have defeated death- to have risen from the grave never to die again.  Muhammad never claimed to be God or to be Himself the way of salvation.  Interestingly, Muhammad also never performed any miracles.  Islam teaches that the only miracle Muhammad received from Allah was the Koran itself, but even the receiving of the Koran had no eye witness testimony to validate Muhammad's claims.  Nor did Muhammad make any clear predictions of the future that could be proved or disproved to validate his "revelation."

We could go on to examine Buddha, Confucius, Abraham, Moses, etc.  The facts remain the same: None of them was ever reported to have claimed to be God.  All of them are dead.  Don't take my word for it.  Confirm this with others.  Jesus alone was put to death precisely because of his claims to be divine, the one and only Son of God, who was, in fact, God incarnate.  He is also the only major religious figure in the history of the world to be raised from the dead and seen by over 500 eye-witnesses, many of whom were willing to die for the truth of what they had seen.

Matthew left behind a lucrative business as a tax collector to follow Jesus.  After Jesus died, he could have returned to his old ways.  But he saw Jesus rise from the dead and call him to go and bear witness, and so he did.  He risked his life carrying the message of Jesus to Palestine, Egypt, Macedonia, etc.

Peter left a fishing business to follow Jesus and, by his own admission, denied him three times when Jesus was facing death.  Peter was scared.  Yet somehow he was able to face the very same people who had condemned Jesus to death and speak boldly of the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.  He would later give his life for his testimony.

So, back to our question: "Who's to say?"  I would propose that the person most qualified to tell us about God and the afterlife is the man who defeated death and who was God in the flesh.  The resurrection validated the claims of Jesus, and his ascension to heaven, which was also witnessed by his followers, further qualified Jesus alone as the expert on God and the afterlife.  I have no qualifications to speak on these matters.  I must go to Jesus and to the records that his disciples left behind in the Bible.  I would humbly propose that the best place for everyone to seek answers is the same place- not our own imaginations or wishful thinking, but the teachings of the One and Only Champion over Death, Jesus Christ.

If you're interested in seriously considering Jesus, you may have these questions -
Can I really trust that the Bible is accurate?  Wasn't it written or compiled by Emperor Constantine in 325AD?
How do we know that Jesus really did rise from the dead and what difference does it make?